Raphael's Rose
by Jessie Rose 911
Summary: The continuation of the story Rosa, or chapter one of "The Four Paths of Raphael".
1. Out Of The Shadows

**This is the same chapter as the one in "The Four Paths of Raphael". Everything after this is new. Thanks to everyone who voted!**

Raphael stared at the young woman as he crouched across the alley from her, still as a statue. She was equally still, dark eyes boring into his own gold ones. She crouched in much the same position, but instead of sais, she clutched a good sized bundle to her chest.

She had seen him, but she hadn't screamed. Gasped, yes; that's what alerted him to her presence. But she didn't scream. She didn't seem terrified either. She was very wary of him, but she didn't seem scared out of her mind.

He had once again left the lair in a huff. He didn't even remember exactly what they were fighting about, only that it had started with Mikey annoying him and ended with raised voices and insults between him and Leo. He had come upon a drug deal, and had decided to take out his frustrations on the criminals. Jumping from the fire escape he had observed the unfortunates from, he had sent them scattering.

As they ran, Raphael stood tall, stepping out of the shadows, thinking he was safe. Her gasp had told him otherwise. So now they crouched, eyes locked, waiting for the next move.

Slowly, she crept forward out of the semi-darkness. With a start, he realized the bundle she held was actually a small child, an African-American girl of about three years. The woman barely looked old enough to be the babe's mother, only about eighteen. Not unheard of in the least, but still looked down on. Especially when the child of a white woman ended up black.

Had she been kicked out of her home? Scorned because of her child? Their skin colors? Prejudice like this made him absolutely sick!

She crept foreword a little more. Raph let her. She had already seen him, so he was curious as to what she'd do next. "Thank you." Her voice was quiet, hoarse. He blinked. She had _thanked_ him. Finally! Someone thanked him for what he and his brothers did!

He cleared his throat roughly before saying, "Eh, welcome." He didn't know how to handle the attention honestly. Then a question entered his mind. Even he hadn't seen her at first, and the druggies he had just sent running certainly hadn't, so what was she thanking him for? "They were botherin' you?" he asked.

"Not yet." Ah. So she was scared of being discovered by them. Made sense.

A little snuffing sound cut into their minimal conversation. The little child that was clutched to her chest had woken. Big, jade green eyes blinked at Raphael, before she inquired with a sleepy voice, "Tuttle?" The side of Raph's mouth twitched. He had a bit of a soft spot for kids, but if anyone, especially Mikey, ever found out he'd deny it.

"_Turtle_, Little Lady, but…" he glanced at the woman's curious face. He sighed. "Yeah…" A thoughtful expression crossed the woman's face before she let go of the child with one hand and held it out for Raph to shake.

"I'm Rosa Lone-Wolf. This is my daughter, Rayne."

Slowly he reached out, wondering if she'd flinch away from his three-fingered hand. She didn't. "Raphael Hamato." He glanced at little Rayne, and frowned slightly. There was a yellow crust at the corners of her eyes, and her nose ran even though it had obviously been wiped raw. She reminded him of a sick kitten. Rosa didn't look all that great herself. Her eyes were sunken and had dark rings, and she was unbelievably pale and thin. They needed help. "Eh, listen, you need a place to stay awhile?"

She drew back a little. "Why?" she almost growled. He put his hands up in a placating manner. Suddenly times when his brothers had done the same towards him flashed through his mind, and he put them down. Sometimes it only made people, namely him, even angrier. "My brother's a bit of a doctor, least he's patched me and the rest of us up enough times he knows what he's doing. An' Rayne don't look so hot…" She kept her eyes narrowed at him. He took it as good sign that she hadn't run yet.

One dark little hand waved towards him. "Hai, Waff!" Rayne may have been sick, but she was a smart little one, and had picked up on Raph's name, even if she couldn't pronounce it. He tried not to smile, he really did, but she was just so damn _cute._ But if Mikey ever heard, and undoubtedly would if Rosa agreed, he'd never hear the end of it.

"Lo, Rayne," he said as very slowly, aware of the proverbial mother bear watching his every move, he reached out and let Rayne grab his fore finger. She was such a tiny little thing, her fist dwarfed almost frighteningly by his large, shockingly green hand. She giggled, then coughed and gave a little whimper. Raph felt his gut clench, and decided to leave the reason why alone for a while. "Let me help ya," he said quietly, looking Rosa in the eye.

She cradled her child closer as she thought. Finally, she murmured, "Lead the way."

"Keep her close. The way there is kinda grimy, and she don' need ta get sicker," he advised her. He led her a block away to suitably large entrance to the sewers. She wrinkled her nose, but followed. She had trouble getting down the ladder with Rayne, so Raph gently hooked an arm around her waist and leapt down, hitting the ground with barely a thump. She looked startled, but didn't shy away when he kept a hand on her back to guide her down the tunnel.

Every once in a while, he'd say something, like to watch out for a rock or debris, but usually they kept silent. Rayne had fallen asleep after the exciting and "Funfunfun!" jump down the ladder. When they were a few minutes away, Raph spoke up.

"I better warn ya 'fore we get there. I live with my three bros and our sensei. My oldest bro, Leo, might not be all that happy ta see ya. Don will be happy ta help ya out, he's the doctor-type I told ya 'bout. Mickey's the baby of the family, an' he acts it."

"Are they… like you?" she asked shyly.

"Yeah. Well, by bros are, but sensei is different. He ain't human, but he sure ain't no turtle. He's a mutated rat." He saw her skeptical and worried expression. "A very clean and honorable rat," he amended. She smirked and nodded.

They arrived then, and he punched in the sequence on the pad that Don had installed recently. The door hissed open. "Hey, Don! Lil' help, here!" he shouted as he gently led Rosa and Rayne in.


	2. The Red SippyCup

"What did you do now, Raph?" came the exasperated voice of the genius. He walked into the main living area from his lab and stopped short. "What. Did. You. Do." He repeated thinking of the lecture Leo was sure to give.

"Nothin'! Just thought they could use some help!" Raph puffed himself up self-righteously.

Don sighed and came closer, saying, "I can see that…" Rosa shifted uncomfortably, holding Rayne a little tighter. Her sharp, dark eyes regarded Don suspiciously. He picked up on this right away, and decided to be friendly and introduce himself. "Hello, Ma'am. My name's Donatello."

"Hey." She hefted the three-year old higher on her hip.

Don's eye-ridges drew together when he focused his attention on the sick child. "Oh, dear. I take it her health is the reason you're here?" Raph nodded. "I have some antibiotics that won't hurt delicate digestive systems. She needs to eat first though. Do think she'll eat some cheerios?" He had gone into "doctor-mode" as Mikey called it.

"She should." Her speech was minimal. It was obvious she trusted each new person she met less and less. Only for the sake of her child was she there.

Don nodded and led her to the kitchen. Raph followed, keeping a watchful eye out for his other two brothers. He was not looking forward to their reactions.

"Where the hell is the cereal?" Donnie hissed at him, his top half swallowed by the cabinet by the fridge where they usually kept the cheerios. Raph went to another cupboard on the other side of the kitchen, reached behind Don's precious coffee, and presented the box to Rosa. Don raised an eye ridge.

"Mikey don't dare touch yer coffee. He's been stealin' the cereal 'til there's none left."

"Oh." Don handed Rosa a small bowl. "Milk?" he offered.

"Is there a small cup? She'll eat the cereal dry, but I want her to wash it down with something."

"Hold on a sec…" Raph dragged a chair over to a storage cabinet above the coffee cupboard. He had to reach so far back that only his green rear end and legs could be clearly seen. "Found one!" his voice was muffled as he hollered victoriously. He clamored down from his perch and replaced the chair. As he made his way over to the sink, Rosa could see he held an old red Sippy-cup. As he washed it out, Don made a surprised face.

"I didn't know we still had those. I thought we left them behind when we moved."

"I went with Master Splinter when he went to scavenge some stuff from the old place. He mostly brought back pictures and our childhood things. I think it's a dad thing." Raph explained, wiping the old, slightly cracked Sippy dry. Double checking that the milk hadn't gone bad, he poured some for Rayne.

"Wake up, Little One. Time to eat," Rosa roused her sleeping daughter.

"Cheer-os!" She crowed happily when she saw her meal. An indulgent smile quirked the corner of Raph's mouth. Don saw it and smothered his own smile. To shell with what Leo thought, having a kid in the lair was good for him.

"Here ya go, Lil' Lady," Raph said, handing the Sippy-cup to the excited little girl.

"Than yoo, Waff!" She cooed, mouth half full of cheerios. He couldn't help it. His face split into a wide, friendly smile.

"Yer welcome."

"Raphael. Donatello." A cold voice called. Both turtles jumped and looked to the kitchen's entrance. Leonardo stood rigid, arms crossed over his plastron. Rosa's grip on her daughter tightened. This turtle was nowhere near as friendly as the other two. His scowl as he regarded her said volumes. None of it was complimentary.

"Leonardo." Rosa jumped. Up until now, Raph had been nothing but warm towards her. His now ice cold voice scorched its way across the room to his brother.

"What is going on?" the tension crackled and rose as Leo and Raph stared each other in the eye.

"It is rather obvious, my son. Raph found a young mother in need of help and brought her here for assistance." The new voice was old and soft. Raph hadn't been joking, Rosa realized as she gazed upon an old, clean, robe-wearing, mutated rat. "Hello, my friend. I am Splinter. Welcome to our home."

"Thank-you." Her hoarse voice sounded grating to her own ears. "I am Rosa Lone-Wolf. Introduce yourself, Little One."

Rayne looked up from her bowl of cheerios, which she had now moved on to playing in. She had been blissfully unaware of the rising tension. Seeing the new people in the room she smiled big. "Hai! I Rayne. I three!" She held up four fingers.

"Hello, Little Rayne." Splinter's wide smile was warm and welcoming, and Rosa relaxed somewhat.

"I thirsty!" Rayne made grabby hands at the Sippy-cup just out of her reach.

"What do you say?" The young mother admonished.

"Pease?"

Raph's goofy smile made a reappearance as he pushed the cup toward her. "There ya go."

"Waff!" she giggled madly when, instead of grabbing the cup, she grabbed Raph's hand.

"Hey, you!" he said, trying to sound tough and disapproving, but only managing a teasing tone. Her mischievous grin made him smile wider. Playing along, he placed his free hand on top of hers. She squealed in delight, recognizing the game. Her free hand went on top of his. He tugged his first hand out from the bottom of the pile and placed it on top. She did the same. They kept going until Rosa cleared her throat. Two pairs of gold and jade eyes respectively looked at her, wide and surprised. And in Raph's case embarrassed.

Rosa just couldn't help but laugh. "Rayne needs to finish her food, and take her medicine," she gently chastised them both. Rayne pouted, and Raph tried to hide his rising embarrassment.

Don took the hint, and went to get the antibiotics.

**Shorter than usual, but this is a good stopping point. I really love Rayne. She's my favorite OC to date!**


End file.
